Just because….

you mean the world to me

it has your name written all over it

I’m so thrilled I found something I KNOW you’ll love

you support me

I love you

you’d never get it for yourself

it made me think of you

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You know what it’s like to find the perfect gift for somebody? Filled with excitement, you just can’t wait to give it! You may give it early, just because you cannot wait one more day. You also know that if you’re looking for the perfect gift, you’ll never find it right when you need it. Furthermore, you know that trying to find the perfect gift at the perfect time can lead to disappointment. You sometimes settle just so you’ll have something, anything to put in that gift bag. Buying the gift bag – that’s the easiest part.

A number of years ago, several of my friends (and a few family members) made a loving pact: No gift giving on birthdays. Difficult for some, nevertheless we all agreed. But, you know what? It’s a relief not to do the frenzied walk up and down aisles or a wild, late night internet search with a deadline looming.  Side note: Those late nights on the internet lead to midnight snacking, and for me, that means devouring an excess amount of chocolate laced with peanut butter.

I’d never suggest we stop giving gifts. To remove the joy we feel when giving isn’t the point! How about giving up the pressure for a specific gift giving event and give “just because” gifts?

Here are a few just because gifts I’ve received that continue to brighten my day!

Let us also remember many “gifts” aren’t tangible. Thinking of you texts or even better a phone call, spending unhurried time together, a handwritten letter, assuming a friend’s recess duty (teachers you know this one!) all qualify as some of the most kind and thoughtful gifts.

I’m not sure how this will work in your world with your friends and family and for what types of events you’re willing to forgo traditional gift giving, but just thought I’d throw the idea out there.

Slainte! Susan

Just wondering…1) Do you give just because gifts? 2) What are some intangible gifts you enjoy giving?

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Something new I’m loving… Touchnote post cards. Download the app. All via your phone, send a postcard with any picture you’ve taken, include a message and your recipient’s address. Addresses are saved for later use. Done. While it’s not handwritten, it’s super simple to send and oh-so fun to receive. Cost is $2 per postcard (when you put $10 on an account).  The final product is high quality and arrives to your recipient in about 5 days. Check it out here!!

Just a couple of years back, I started my own little personal tradition…to celebrate my folks on my birthday. After all, without them I would not celebrate any of these days, which by the way seem to come around at an alarming rate. Today, I’m remembering my mom with gardenias.

Raised in a modest three bedroom home, there was Mom, Dad, my older often bratty brother, and me. ONE bathroom. There was just one simple bathroom rule: When Dad needs in, you get out. The price of the home was under ten grand, and the mortgage was $99. At the time, even that felt like a stretch for my folks. Hard for us to imagine in today’s world! In our simple, not-too large, yard, there were several gardenia bushes. And each year when the white, fragrant blooms arrived, people would stop to ask my mother for her gardenia growing secrets.  “No secrets,” Mom would say as people shared sad tales of gardenia growing failures.

As an adult, in my own yard, there is one gardenia bush. It came with the house, and blooms for just a bit each summer. Certainly it’s not overflowing like the ones in my childhood home. I’ve even Googled “how to help gardenias thrive,” none of ideas have given great gardenia success, and I am 100% certain my mom didn’t add any organic matter to hers. Nor did she maintain airflow, measure the acidity of the soil, or add sulphur to help the PH level.

This year, my own plant produced enough to make a small bouquet, which I delivered to my mom and dad in their final resting place. It’s so clear to me that my mom is smiling at me as I attempt to help my gardenias thrive while she do so effortlessly.

Today, in my personal tradition, I celebrate, with gardenias, my mom and dad.

Slainte! Susan

P.S. As I just now glanced outside at my now bare gardenia plant, I notice a butterfly landing right at the top. A message from Mom!

I find joy in words. Attempts to pull up the most precise word to describe a situation, engages my brain. You know, famished rather than hungry-which, it seems, is often the case for me, sigh.  I find entertainment watching new words join the dictionary (conlang, an invented language, and face-palm, to cover one’s face with the hand when embarrassed) to name a few.  (Click here for more newly added words.)  2015 was a surprise when the Oxford Dictionary publishers announced the word of the year wasn’t a word at all, it was the tears of joy emoji.  I didn’t have a word to describe how I felt about this announcement. Maybe I didn’t need a word to describe the word of the year since it wasn’t a word at all, or whatever!  Words fail me, time and time again.

Again, lack of a precise word or words was glaring on a holiday in Scotland. How do you describe such a XYZ country? Replace XYZ with any synonym for beautiful.  Here, I’ll help: glorious, breath-taking, awesome, magical, majestic, moody, inviting, pleasant, green, pink, blue…The list continues, but there isn’t a way to wrap it up with one exact word. Karen, my dear friend and travel-mate on this trip decided to describe Scotland in colors.

When I reflected back on Scotland’s colors, I kept seeing colored-pencils representing the prominent landscape features.

Here’s our color-attempt-

Green: hills, mountains, grass, meadows, numerous shades, everywhere

Yellow: the sun would often highlight one specific area where we were to focus

Gray: rocks, granite, mountains everywhere. Scotland has ancient volcanoes!

Pink: wildflowers galore

Blue: lochs, ocean, firths, rivers, and sometimes water shooting out from the side of a hill and of course, the sky

White: enormous billowy clouds and sheep who wander the one-lane roads

In reality…

“Non-pictures” became my invented word for the hundreds of pictures I took. These pictures simply don’t do justice to the landscape. So, non-pictures. Not one captures the gloriousness, magic, majesty, or moodiness.

Research by nature writer Robert Macfarlane sadly discovered the Oxford Junior Dictionary publishers removed words no longer pertinent to our kids. Farewell to words such as dandelion, fern, acorn, ash, mistletoe, willow, ivy, lark, and pasture.  Not wanting holes in the dictionary – chatroom, cut-and-paste, and a few other tech related words were welcomed in.  No! We can’t remove nature related words. There already aren’t a sufficient amount for us to pull from.

For now, I’ve captures the images in my mind’s eye and of course in my heart! If you’re looking for an XYZ  (insert any word for beautiful here) destination, perhaps you hear Scotland calling.

Slainte! Susan

P.S. If you know me, you know of my love for Ireland which has not been diminished by a Scottish holiday. Wherever Scotland is written here, I can most certainly insert Ireland. In fairness, Sunshinewithwaves was born well after I left a big piece of my heart in Ireland.

To ponder…What are some places you have in your mind’s eye that can’t be captured on film (okay, your iPhone) or with our language?